Michael Curtis (28 February 1920 – 3 July 2004) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

newspaper editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held account ...

and executive.

Biography

Curtis was born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, England, and studied at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate, and

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he fought with the

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

. He was injured in 1943, and after recovery, returned to Cambridge University to complete his degree.Geoffrey Goodman,
Michael Curtis
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 9 July 2004. In 1944, Curtis joined the ''

Eastern Daily Press The ''Eastern Daily Press'' (''EDP'') is a regional newspaper covering Norfolk, northern parts of Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to ...

'' as a reporter, then in 1946 he joined the ''

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the '' Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 b ...

''. He was promoted to become Deputy Editor in 1953, and in 1954, he became Editor. Politically, he kept the newspaper aligned with the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, and opposed the Suez invasion, a decision that led to a significant decrease in the paper's circulation. As editor, Curtis proposed a succession of ideas intended to revive the paper's circulation: to start using a

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...

format, to form a partnership with

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

, to merge with the '' Daily Herald'', and finally to increase the price by a halfpenny in order to boost profits. Each idea was rejected by owner Laurence Cadbury. In 1957, Curtis finally resigned. Curtis later worked as executive aide to the

Aga Khan Aga Khan (; ; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imamate in Nizari doctrine, Imām of the Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizari Isma'ilism, Ismāʿīli Shia Islam, Shias. The current holder of the title is the ...

, writing speeches and organising publicity. In 1959, he launched the

Nation Media Group Nation Media Group (NMG), formerly known as East African Newspapers (Nation Series) Ltd, is an East African media group based in Kenya and listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. It is owned by Aga Khan IV. History NMG was founded in 1959 by A ...

on behalf of the Aga Khan, which published the ''Sunday Nation'' and subsequently the ''

Daily Nation The ''Daily Nation'' is a Kenyan newspaper. It was founded in 1958 and is published in Nairobi. History The ''Daily Nation'' was started in the year 1958 as a Swahili weekly called ''Taifa'' by the Englishman Charles Hayes. It was bought in 1 ...

'' in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, competing successfully with the existing colonial newspapers, the '' Tanganyika Standard'' and the '' East African Standard''. Sales rose rapidly from 17,500 to 35,000,Michael Curtis
, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 13 July 2004. and ultimately to 165,000.

Roy Greenslade Roy Greenslade (born 31 December 1946) is a British author and freelance journalist, and a former professor of journalism. He worked in the UK newspaper industry from the 1960s onwards. As a media commentator, he wrote a daily blog from 2006 to ...

"Obituary: Michael Curtis"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 15 July 2004. The company became profitable in ten years. As the culmination of the process of Africanising the company, Curtis stepped down in 1977, and moved to lead the Aga Khan's social welfare department in Aiglemont until his retirement in 1994.

References

1920 births 2004 deaths Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War II British newspaper executives Duke of Wellington's Regiment soldiers English male journalists English newspaper editors Military personnel from Cambridge People educated at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate Writers from Cambridge {{editor-stub